Mass. General addressing cultural disparity of care

Massachusetts General Hospital executives will announce today the creation of a center designed to address one of the most stubbornly chronic conditions in healthcare: the deep division that exists in medical status between racial and ethnic groups.

The hospital and Partners HealthCare System are pledging a total of $3 million to found the Disparities Solutions Center, where researchers will hunt for answers to end disparities in patients' medical treatment and improve their health...

Doctors involved with the drafting of a scathing, landmark national examination of disparities in 2002 by the Institute of Medicine said in interviews that they believe Mass. General is the first hospital in the United States to make such a sweeping commitment to solving the disparities across all specialties.

In addition to doing a boatload of research, this effort also will involve CME training on healthcare inequality through an institute MGH plans to set up. Bravo, MGH!